Weekly Chasidic Story #1043 (s5778-12/16 Kislev 5778)

The Book that Solved and Saved

"Celebrate your people's New Year holiday," suggested my non-Jewish fiancee. "Go to synagogue, I'll show you where one is."

Connection: Thursday, Yud-Tet Kislev--the anniversary of the printing of the Tanya, the primary text of Chabad Chasidut, in 1796; the date of the liberation from prison of its author two years after; and the 246th yahrzeit of the Maggid of Mezritch, the second leader of the Chasidic movement and the Rebbe of Rabbi Shneur Zalman--falls this week on Wednesday night-Thursday.

The Book that Solved and Saved

This week, during the Chasidic festival which takes place on the 19th day of the Jewish month of Kislev (Thursday, Dec. 7, 2017), Levi-Itzhak Rosler and his wife will stroll along the outskirts of the small Ukrainian town, Haditch, to visit the 'resting place' of Rabbi Shneur Zalman, the first Rebbe of the Lubavitch-Chabad dynasty and the author of Sefer HaTanya (which was first published on Kislev 19-20, 5557/1796).

He has been eagerly anticipating this moment for many years. "I wish to say 'thank you for this extraordinary and vital book. Encountering Tanya changed my life," explained the 37-year-old Rosler, now living in Harish (a small town in the northwest of Israel, near Pardes Hannah).

Although a descendent of the famed Berditchever Rebbe, for whom he is named, and born and raised in a religious home and sent to Torah schools, Rosler abandoned mitzvah observance in his early teenage years. He had many questions about G-d and faith, and the answers he received were nowhere near satisfactory. He became alienated. His doubts pushed him to quit yeshiva and leave his parents' home. He enrolled instead in a government secular high school.

At the same time, he was preparing for his mandatory enlistment in the IDF (Israel Defense Forces), hoping to be accepted in an elite battle unit. To his sorrow, he was seriously injured in a diving accident, and as a result, exempted from all military service.

Shortly after that, he was injured even worse when an eighteen-wheeler truck rammed into the car in which he was a passenger. In the ambulance he lost consciousness. He fell himself floating in the air above his body, watching the doctors trying to save his life. This clear vision left him with the certainly that there is a soul, and that it inhabits the body.

Thus began his spiritual journey.

From the hospital he was transferred to a rehabilitation center. His stay there was followed by a long period of recovery as an out-patient. Among the treatments he received were sessions of acupuncture, and due to the immediate and visible positive results, he decided to study this Chinese form of alternate medicine and perhaps to work in it.

He excelled in his studies. In order to specialize in the field and to receive professional training, he moved to Canada. "I wanted to deepen my involvement in order to be able to help people."

For several years he worked in different medical centers in Canada. He was quite successful; his clientele included a number of famous people and his reputation grew.

The turning point in his life came when he became engaged to a non-Jewish young woman and the 'marriage' date was approaching. One day, in the midst of preparations for the wedding, his fiancée said to him, "Today is the New Year's Day for the Jews."

"So what?" he responded casually.

"You should celebrate with your people. You should go to synagogue."

She even offered to show him where one was! More amazing, although there was a Reform 'Temple' in his neighborhood, she brought him to a Chabad House that was located further away.

"The Rabbi greeted me warmly. He put a kipah on my head and a machzor (Rosh Hashanah-Yom Kippur prayer-book) in my hand. I looked around, puzzled. I had no idea what I was supposed to be doing there. I felt like a total stranger.

"But when the shofar blew, my heart opened. I burst into tears."

"After the prayer service ended, the Rabbi suggested that I come back during the week to study Tanya with him. I didn't know then what Tanya was, but moved by the shofar experience, I agreed."

The Tanya lessons generated a complete upheaval of Levi-Itzhak's soul. "Each chapter answered questions that had so troubled me when I was younger. A deep feeling of gratitude pervaded me and has stayed with me ever since. I began to put together the pieces of my life, the puzzle of the purpose of my existence in the world. It was truly amazing."

Another result of his Tanya study was the ending of his relationship with the non-Jewish woman he thought he was going to marry. She told him that he had changed too much recently as a result of his deepening involvement in Judaism. Therefore, she said, to his great joy and relief, she was cancelling the wedding and breaking up with him.

A short while after that, Rosler decided to return to Israel. His Tanya studies he continued with Rabbi Yair Kalev in Tel Aviv, and "those classes inspired me and drew me strongly towards Chabad. They changed me completely."

Rosler became a chasid in every area of his life. "Chasidut saved me from intermarriage and assimilation. Thanks to Yud-Tet Kislev a new world was revealed to me. Its values accompany me every moment. It's as if it is my birthday!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Source: Translated by Yerachmiel Tilles from (last week's) Sichat HaShavua (#1613).

Biographical note:
Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liozna/Liadi, the 'Alter Rebbe' of Chabad [of blessed memory: 18 Elul 5505 - 24 Tevet 5573 (1745 - Dec. 1812 C.E.)], one of the main disciples of the Maggid of Mezritch, successor to the Baal Shem Tov. He is the founder of the Chabad-Chassidic movement and the author of Shulchan Aruch HaRav and Tanya as well as many other major works in both Jewish law and the mystical teachings.

Connection: Yud-Tet Kislev--the anniversary of the printing of the Tanya, the primary text of Chabad Chasidut, in 1796; the date of the liberation from prison of its author two years after; and the 246th yahrzeit of the Maggid of Mezritch, the second leader of the Chasidic movement and the Rebbe of Rabbi Shneur Zalman--falls this week on Wednesday night-Thursday. (You are cordially invited by your local Chabad representatives to join their annual celebration.)

Yerachmiel Tilles is co-founder and associate director of Ascent-of-Safed, and chief editor of this website (and of KabbalaOnline.org). He has hundreds of published stories to his credit, and many have been translated into other languages. He tells them live at Ascent nearly every Saturday night.

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